Summary:
A Lesson Before Dying is a fiction novel which takes place in a small Cajun community in Louisiana during the late 1940s. Early in the book a young man named Jefferson is accused and convicted of a liquor store shootout which resulted in three men being killed and he was sentenced to death. Another man, Grant Wiggins, has just returned form a university to teach at the small plantation school. Grant hates his life living in Louisiana and desperately would like to escape but his aunt and Jefferson's godmother convince him to stay and prove to the white men that Jefferson is a man and to restore his pride before the day of his execution. The Reverend also works with Jefferson and icorporates faith to help them both understand the heroism of defying what should only be written in black and white. "She told me to help him walk to that chair like a man-not a hog-and I'm doing the best I can, Reverend. The rest is up to you." (Gaines 214, A Lesson Before Dying).
List of the Main Characters:
Jefferson---Man of about twenty years of age who was convicted of murder in the beginning of the book and spent the entire length of the book in prison. His was sentenced to die the second Friday after Easter.
Grant Wiggins---Man who got a simple degree from a university and taught at a poor school inside a local church.
Miss Emma---Jefferson's godmother. worries a lot about Jefferson because in his trial, his appointed attorney called him a hog as a defense to show he was stupid and could not possibly plan a murder and now he has no faith and waits for the day of his execution. She wants Grant to go to Jefferson's cell on a regular basis to talk some sense into him and make him a man.
Tante Lou---Grant's aunt who spends a lot of time with Miss Emma.
Reverend Ambrose---Minister at the local church who believes it is Grant's job to make sure Jefferson walks like a man to the chair and has faith after death.
A Little About the Author:
Ernest Gaines was born January 15, 1933 and grew up in the community where his six novels and stories are set, one of them being A Lesson Before Dying. The community where he lived was called "the quarter" in this book and provided the setting and building block of his previous books. Many of the places in A Lesson Before Dying come directly from the places Gaines grew up, worked, went to school, and traveled as a child. A Lesson Before Dying, Ernest Gaines most recent novel, published in 1993 by Alfred A. Knopf, was nominated for a Puliter Prize and received the National Book Critics Circle, the southern Writer's Conference, the Louisiana Library, John Dos Passos, and Amistad Awards. (Biography Ernest J. Gaines, March 18, 1998) Outstanding?
After reading this book, I would recommend this book to everone that has a reading level of at least a middle school student. A Lesson Before Dying is understandable to younger people because it is written in first person so the reader can get a detailed version of the main character's view point. Gaines wrote the book with understandable words and sentences almost everone. Older students and adults can enjoy this book because, like I said before, it is easy reading and they can grasp gaines point of view throughout the book and what he is trying tell his audience. The book overall, I think has a really good plot and story to it. It is also very realistic. The author also does a good job keeping the reader wanting to read and finish the rest of the book and gradually shows Jefferson's realization that he has more left to his life than he thinks.
A Lesson Before Dying
By Ernest Gaines
Summary:
A Lesson Before Dying is a fiction novel which takes place in a small Cajun community in Louisiana during the late 1940s. Early in the book a young man named Jefferson is accused and convicted of a liquor store shootout which resulted in three men being killed and he was sentenced to death. Another man, Grant Wiggins, has just returned form a university to teach at the small plantation school. Grant hates his life living in Louisiana and desperately would like to escape but his aunt and Jefferson's godmother convince him to stay and prove to the white men that Jefferson is a man and to restore his pride before the day of his execution. The Reverend also works with Jefferson and icorporates faith to help them both understand the heroism of defying what should only be written in black and white. "She told me to help him walk to that chair like a man-not a hog-and I'm doing the best I can, Reverend. The rest is up to you." (Gaines 214, A Lesson Before Dying).
List of the Main Characters:
A Little About the Author:
Ernest Gaines was born January 15, 1933 and grew up in the community where his six novels and stories are set, one of them being A Lesson Before Dying. The community where he lived was called "the quarter" in this book and provided the setting and building block of his previous books. Many of the places in A Lesson Before Dying come directly from the places Gaines grew up, worked, went to school, and traveled as a child.
A Lesson Before Dying, Ernest Gaines most recent novel, published in 1993 by Alfred A. Knopf, was nominated for a Puliter Prize and received the National Book Critics Circle, the southern Writer's Conference, the Louisiana Library, John Dos Passos, and Amistad Awards. (Biography Ernest J. Gaines, March 18, 1998)
Outstanding?
After reading this book, I would recommend this book to everone that has a reading level of at least a middle school student. A Lesson Before Dying is understandable to younger people because it is written in first person so the reader can get a detailed version of the main character's view point. Gaines wrote the book with understandable words and sentences almost everone. Older students and adults can enjoy this book because, like I said before, it is easy reading and they can grasp gaines point of view throughout the book and what he is trying tell his audience. The book overall, I think has a really good plot and story to it. It is also very realistic. The author also does a good job keeping the reader wanting to read and finish the rest of the book and gradually shows Jefferson's realization that he has more left to his life than he thinks.
A trailer to the movie
References:
"UNC Asheville Honorary Degree Recipients." UNC Asheville. May 14, 2007. 11 Nov 2007 <http://www.unca.edu/news/honorarydegrees.html>.
celpero, "Trailer A Lesson Before Dying." Youtube. Oct 24, 2007. 11 Nov 2007 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUXHn0mw0KQ.
"Ernest Gaines Distinguished Author." Tanya Bickley Enterprises. Nov. 11 2007. 11 Nov 2007 <http://www.bickley.com/ernest_gaines.html>.